Our Honeymoon - From London to Spain III

Stop No. 2 ~ Debrovnik, Croatia

A friend of mine who has traveled all over the world as an airlines employee, once told me that out of all the places he had ever visited, Croatia was by far the most incredible. Based on his feelings towards Croatia, I was very much looking forward to this leg of the cruise. If after visiting Venice I thought that there was no where in the world as beautiful and enchanted, I would've been proven wrong the moment I stepped into the coastal town of Debrovnik.

The wonderful thing about a cruise is you go to sleep in one country and wake up in the next, feeling perfectly rested and excited to see new sites. And all of this happens under the direction of someone other than yourself - which makes those who understand how difficult logistics can be when you are hopping from country to country and trying to translate a German GPS - it makes those people extremely pleasant to be around the entire vacation! Now, don't misunderstand me here, Adam and I weren't spoiled the entire trip - we made an effort to tackle public transportation in each of the cities we visited - which is pretty confusing and hectic at times, so you see, we didn't take it completely easy!

After a few rounds of poker that night and one of the corniest shows I've ever seen, Adam and I called it a evening. We splurged on a room with a balcony and that is the spot where we started and ended each day of our cruise. Whether enjoying our coffee in the morning or a glass of champagne or wine in the evening, I highly recommend upgrading to the balcony rooms and enjoying the warm breeze, the view of nothing but ocean as far as the eye can see, and a little privacy from the rest of the travelers.

Now, back to Debrovnik. We wake up, step out onto our balcony and notice that we have arrived at our destination. The ports aren't all that excited, so your first glance of the city typically just looks like a port anywhere else in the world. Except in Santorini, where you don't really port - instead you anchor the boat out in the bay and taxi in, which makes the first views upon arrival a little more exciting. Our strategy on this trip was more of a combo - see stuff in the morning and in the afternoon, go swim at the beach somewhere. We were very successful at accomplishing this strategy in Debrovnik. We spent the entire morning walking around the walls of the old city, sweating a bit because it was one of the hotter days, snagging lots of good photos and enjoying the views:

~Climbing up the stairs to walk the city walls~

~I adore the rich coppers, oranges, and crisp white blends found all throughout the city~

~a lovely old church complete with bells, a statue of St. Paul, and his unexpected friend~

~The picture doesn't even begin to capture the beauty of the old, weathered stone walls contrasted by the fresh, lime green hues of the hydrangea and other plants cheerfully sitting in front of the walls ~

After hours of exploring the city we were hungry and hot and from a distance, we could sort of make out a few beach locations. We decided to wander down towards the marina to see if boats were taking passengers out to the beaches for a swim. We found a ride and made our way across the bay to a small stretch of beach, nestled in beneath the cliff side. Luckily there was a small cafe there were we safely ordered some sort of chicken swarma/sandwhich deal, cokes, and fries :) I'm really happy that you can pretty much find french fries where ever they go...it may come by a different name, but a fried potato, by any name, is a friend of mine!

The water in Croatia is extremely clear with rocky bottoms. At first glance you may think that it's going to be really warm water but it actually is a nice cool temperature that I found to be perfect and absolutely refreshing! We laid out on the lawn chairs that we found there until some guy tried to collect $20 per chair and then we walked along the cliff side and found a more secluded spot to jump off the rocks and swim.

~The view of the old city from our beach~

I will definitely return to Croatia - it was just gorgeous and the nice thing was that it was a little more affordable than our Italian legs of the trip. I only saw one spot in Croatia, but I've heard that many of the cities in Croatia along the Dalmatian Coast are just as incredible.